The Piedmont News is an email digest of top news stories about conservation, land use, energy, and environmental matters of interest to the region. We hope you’ll share The Piedmont News with someone else who cares about these stories.
Virginia Mercury
(June 11, 2026)
Virginia built an incentive its own auditors say returns less to the state than it costs, watched it grow into a near-billion-dollar annual line, and has not decided whether it has the will to change course. Localities adopting their own budgets this month, waiting on state numbers that may not come, will feel that indecision first.
WVTF
(June 10, 2026)
Dominion Energy Virginia President Ed Baine defended the proposed merger saying, among benefits, it would offer a $10 a month rebate to Virginia ratepayers for two years. But some legislators on Virginia’s Energy Commission were not so easily swayed.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(June 9, 2026)
The Potomac River is a primary source of drinking water for the Washington, D.C., region, including for eastern Loudoun County. A new $25 million study is looking for an emergency backup water supply in case something happens to that river.
DC News Now
(June 9, 2026)
PowerPoint presentations about dense research papers don’t typically draw a crowd. On April 9 at a church in Sterling, Virginia, residents turned up to listen to Michael Cork, a Harvard researcher, break down his findings on the health impacts of a nearby data center with rapt attention.
This article highlights The Piedmont Environmental Council's recent community meeting about this study.
Rappahannock News
(June 8, 2026)
Lawyers and conservationists at the annual gathering of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) Saturday urged communities to take a stronger stand against the rapid spread of data centers across Virginia, calling for both local opposition, and when necessary, legal action to lessen their impacts.
This article highlights The Piedmont Environmental Council's recent Annual Gathering at Longwood Farm in Fauquier County. Read more about that event in our recent email alert.
The Conversation
(June 8, 2026)
We study science communication, climate science and public health, so we wanted to understand how data centers in Virginia affect the people who live near them and the broader public. We found that the data centers that already exist affect nearby residents and the nation as a whole in five main areas: air quality, water quality, noise levels, land use and energy costs.
WTOP News
(June 8, 2026)
Copperhead snakes are nothing new around the D.C. area, but people don’t usually find the snakes in their yards until later in the summer. But this year’s unusual weather — going from super hot to chilly and rainy to dry — has brought the copperheads out a little early.
Utility Dive
(June 3, 2026)
Google will fund a three-year, 100-MW virtual power plant in the PJM Interconnection with the aim of creating an “industry-leading scalable blueprint” for unlocking capacity to meet data center demand, the tech giant announced Tuesday.
The Daily Progress
(June 10, 2026)
Albemarle County plans to host a public hearing later this month to discuss proposed changes to how it manages riparian buffers, the strips of vegetated land along waterways that act as critical defense systems against environmental damage.
C-VILLE Weekly
(June 10, 2026)
One of Charlottesville’s most prolific developers has added another high-profile property to its portfolio by purchasing a parking lot where the City Market operates on Saturdays for seven months of the year.
Information Charlottesville
(June 8, 2026)
Charlottesville City Council adopted a new zoning code in December 2023 in order to encourage more residential development, but there are still many developments working their way under the previous rules. One of them is an 84-unit apartment complex called Willoughby Place to be constructed at the intersection to the Willoughby neighborhood under the city’s former zoning code.
Charlottesville Community Engagement
(June 8, 2026)
In this Monday edition: the Albemarle Planning Commission agrees with neighbors of a planned infill development in Crozet who say it is too dense; the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality holding a public hearing to get comments on a summary of public comments about a discharge permit for an Amazon data center campus near Lake Anna
The Crozet Gazette
(June 7, 2026)
First detected in northeast Ohio in 2012, Beech Leaf Disease gradually spread to New England and the mid-Atlantic states, reaching Northern Virginia (Prince William County) in 2021. It was confirmed in Albemarle County just last summer, after a hiker reported symptomatic trees in Preddy Creek Park—a great example of how an informed, sharp-eyed citizen can help monitor a threat to our natural resources.
Information Charlottesville
(June 6, 2026)
The Albemarle Planning Commission does not often get involved with the design of projects in the county’s entrance corridors but recently weighed in on a proposed change to the zoning code to make it easier to place solar panels on rooftops in those areas.
The Winchester Star
(June 10, 2026)
A Northern Virginia furniture retailer has received permission to open a warehouse, distribution center and outlet store at a former industrial site in Berryville. A 260,000-square-foot, U-shaped building that once housed the largest apple distribution facility east of the Mississippi River occupies the 22-acre location.
The Winchester Star
(June 8, 2026)
Valley Link Transmission Company LLC announced on Tuesday morning a proposed 260-mile, 765-kilovolt (kV) transmission line called the Valley North Project that preliminary information indicates would go through both Frederick and Clarke counties, according to a media release.
The Winchester Star
(June 5, 2026)
The Clarke County Planning Commission on Friday postponed — yet again — considering a special-use permit application by the White Post Village Association (WPVA) at its request.
Fauquier Now
(June 10, 2026)
Fauquier Habitat for Humanity has long been focused on revitalizing the historic Haiti Street in Warrenton. But now, after a surprise decision from the Warrenton Board of Zoning Appeals, part of Habitat’s plan for the community has hit an unexpected roadblock due to a property line dispute.
Fauquier Now
(June 9, 2026)
Facing a continuing drought warning from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and declining groundwater levels, the Fauquier County Water and Sanitation Authority has issued mandatory outdoor water restrictions for all customers.
Fauquier Now
(June 5, 2026)
A rezoning and special exception application in Marshall would further open the door to a 1.4-million-square-foot industrial park that abuts the Mountainside Montessori School, raising concerns from parents, teachers and community members.
The Daily Progress
(June 7, 2026)
reene County officials are warning residents of a scam targeting people who have filed applications with the county's planning and zoning department. “Please be aware that fraudulent invoices targeting Planning & Zoning applicants have been reported,” the county wrote in a Facebook post.
Loudoun Now
(June 10, 2026)
The Round Hill Town Council is continuing to wrestle with ways to slow traffic through town.
Last year, the town won authority to install five speed monitoring signs on streets entering the downtown area.
As concerns about speeding cars continue, the next step may be adopting 20 miles per hour speed limits.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(June 8, 2026)
Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve will be buzzing this weekend as it hosts Loudoun County's Born to be Wild Pollinator Festival. Scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. onJune 13, the festival celebrates National Pollinator Week and will feature activities, exhibits, native plant giveaways, games and hayrides.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(June 8, 2026)
Organizations in Loudoun County may apply for historic preservation grants through the Loudoun Preservation Society through June 30. The grants are aimed at providing both publicity for preservation projects and momentum toward the grantee's own fundraising, according to a news release from the organization.
Loudoun Now
(June 8, 2026)
JK Land Holdings has purchased the 222-acre O’Connor Estate/Dry Hollow Farm on Leesburg’s northern boundary with the intent to protect the property from development. The company also plans to place conservation easements on another 431 acres with the purchase of three western Loudoun farms.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
(June 8, 2026)
On June 8, three organizers of Loudoun Valley Estates residents opposed to the Dominion Energy Golden to Mars project and Sterling board member Amy M. Riccardi held a news conference followed by a tour of the Broad Run Stream Valley, which would be impacted by the project that is designed to meet surging electrical demand for Loudoun County’s data centers.
The Piedmont Journal Recorder
(June 8, 2026)
Madison County Board of Supervisors shut down one closely watched land-use request Wednesday night, then approved another after adding new restrictions meant to calm neighbors. The board voted 3-2 to deny a proposed zoning ordinance change that would have opened a path for single-family residences in the B1 business district at 27 Jack Shop Road.
The Rapidan Register
(June 4, 2026)
Madison County residents have voiced concerns about the Aroda-based Mountain View Nursing Home’s (MVNH) sewage situation. The facility is currently undergoing a renewal of its Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit which is required for any treatment facility that discharges into a public body of water or has an outfall that reaches a public body of water.
Rappahannock News
(May 24, 2026)
Monira Rifaat never expected to become a cattle farmer. Trained as a pathologist under the British medical system in Egypt where she was born in 1938, she arrived in the United States in the 1960s, completed her medical internship in Boston, Ma. and later finished her residency in Alexandria, Va.
Technical.ly
(June 2, 2026)
As data centers emerge as a hot button issue across the US, experts consider this case a potential precedent-setter.
“I think it will be written about in business communications case studies for years, if not decades,” Terry Clower, an economic development researcher at George Mason University, told Technical.ly. “How an entire industry … has blown the public relations.”
ARL Now
(June 8, 2026)
Over the past two years, a fare-evasion rate of 70% has been widely reported for Metrobus service. At the meeting, Clarke said that the figure includes some who may just be confused about whether to pay. “We’ve created a mess here, and we should figure out what we’re doing,” he said.
The Frederick News-Post
(June 10, 2026)
Frederick has more planned hyperscale data centers than any other county in Maryland, according to an industry-created dataset. These facilities will come online in as early as three years, according to some estimates, prompting local concerns that the area will soon resemble “data center alley” in nearby Loudoun County, Virginia.
12 On Your Side
(June 9, 2026)
Amazon Web Services is seeking permission from the Department of Environmental Quality to release treated water from its data centers into Louisa County’s natural water sources. It would give AWS permission to release 280,000 gallons a day of treated cooling water from its data centers into Sedges Creek, which flows into Lake Anna.
Richmond BizSense
(June 11, 2026)
A developer from Colorado has stepped up to the plate to try to be the first to build a data center campus under Goochland’s newly enacted technology overlay district guidelines. Denver-based Tract on Wednesday submitted an initial conditional-use permit application to the county for Tuckahoe Technology Park, a multi-phase data center campus that would rise on nearly 900 acres just west of West Creek Business Park.
The Smithfield Times
(June 10, 2026)
“Agriculture is Virginia’s No. 1 private industry. Forestry is our third and together they represent $105 billion in economic impact and nearly half a million jobs across the commonwealth,” Spanberger said.
Cardinal News
(June 10, 2026)
As Virginia reenters a multistate program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a state commission will discuss the possibility of putting money gained from the program toward rebates for electric utility customers.
Loudoun Now
(June 9, 2026)
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) is co-sponsoring legislation aimed at addressing the rising electricity costs faced by Virginians by managing the energy demand of data centers.
The Power for the People Act would direct states to evaluate the need for a new rate class specifically for data centers to ensure that they are adequately offsetting their costs.
WVTF
(June 9, 2026)
In Richmond County Circuit Court Monday, the tribe’s lawyers challenged a state permit that would allow Caroline County to withdraw up to nine million gallons of water a day from the Rappahannock River. They say that would significantly impact their cultural heritage and historic fishery and oystering grounds.
The Roanoke Times
(June 9, 2026)
The Botetourt County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denying permits for a utility-scale solar energy project during its Monday meeting, as the county contends with new solar facility legislation and potential changes to the comprehensive plan.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(June 9, 2026)
Virginia’s decision to rejoin a market that requires utilities to pay for the carbon dioxide their plants emit could boost Dominion Energy ratepayers’ bills by 6% to 7.5% next year, a filing at the State Corporation Commission says.
WJLA-ABC7News
(June 8, 2026)
Tensions are rising as Virginia lawmakers and the governor still haven’t approved a budget. If the governor doesn’t sign a budget by the end of June, Virginia will have its first ever state government shutdown. On Friday, budget talks collapsed.
Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
(June 8, 2026)
They want state government officials and regulators to subject NextEra’s acquisition of Richmond-based Dominion to rigorous scrutiny—so the all-stock, mega-deal benefits ratepayers, not just utility shareholders. To achieve that, they say, Virginia must establish robust protections for affordability, transparency, competition and electric grid modernization.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(June 8, 2026)
The impasse, on its face, is over a longstanding, $1.9 billion a year tax exemption for data centers that Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, wants to do away with, a move that budget writers in the House of Delegates have rejected and that her fellow Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger says will undermine the state’s business climate.
Cardinal News
(June 11, 2026)
Last week, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker — in what Capital News Illinois called “a surprise move” — announced that he will suspend the state’s tax incentives for data centers. Whether this is smart policy is yet to be seen. Unfortunately for Virginia — which is now embroiled in its own debate over data center taxation — the impact of the Illinois policy change may not be known for years, which is longer than many politicians want to wait.
WTOP News
(June 11, 2026)
Transportation experts say few government actions have reshaped modern America more than the transportation deregulation laws signed by President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. The changes transformed airlines, trucking and freight rail, helping create the transportation network that powers today’s economy.
Fauquier Times
(June 10, 2026)
Even power-rich Texas, with a data center concentration second only to Virginia's, will need to nearly double its electric production in five years. Shortages are possible this summer, and the supply-demand gap could be five times worse by 2029, the state’s grid operator reports.
Tom's Hardware
(June 8, 2026)
Back in 1999, 87 acres of land in Taylor, Texas, was donated (nominal fee $10) to the city by a farmer, with a condition in the deed that it would be used for community parkland. In 2025, the land was sold for $10M to a data center developer, who has won several legal battles against the nearby residents who are trying to stop the massive construction project, reports 404 Media.
The Washington Post
(June 7, 2026)
Annette Singh and Annie Cannelongo will vote in November in this midterm battleground with one issue at the top of their minds: data centers.
The full-time moms say their fury over the massive computer-filled warehouses has consumed them ever since Amazon Web Services broke ground on a data center site that stretches from the lush playground their kids use close to the elementary school that Singh’s child attends.
